All Resources
All resources from across the Hints for Healing website can be found below.
All Articles
Supporting Students in the Wake of the Beirut Explosion
The horrific explosion that ripped through Beirut, Lebanon on 4 August came on the back of a crippling economic crisis which has decimated people’s life savings, rising COVID-19 infections, food…
Services to Learners with Refugee Experience during COVID19
There are a number of factors that educators might need to be aware of in the current COVID19 climate that have the potential of adversely impacting on learners with refugee…
Suspensions and Expulsions in NSW Schools – Deb’s Digest Term 2, 2021
By Deb Gould Image credit: Abhinav Thakur (CCO) This is not a hints and tips piece; very far from it. Hopefully, it will stimulate reflection on the fact that 32,300…
Nercy Clarke on Supporting Students through Grief and Growth
By Maeve Galea Image Source: Sarah Horrigan, flikr ‘For young people with a refugee background, grief experiences could vary from having lost a close family member to grieving the loss…
Culturally and Therapeutically Savvy Engagement with Learners and their Families with Refugee Experience
By Rafik Tanious, School Liaison Counsellor/Project Officer Rural and Regional NSW, STARTTS Image credit: Steve Snodgrass 16 October 2020 How do we make education engage with the life-worlds of learners…
We Need to Talk about Devices – Deb’s Digest Term 3, 2021
By Deb Gould Image source: pxfuel Initially, Nicole and I had flagged ‘gaming’ as this term’s topic. But, with the average gamer being 34 (Brand et al., 2019), this doesn’t really cover the concern that many of…
Building Community at School, with School Liaison Officer Maria Ha
By Maeve Galea It’s widely accepted that schools can play an instrumental role in supporting the recovery of children with refugee experience (Kia-Keating & Ellis, 2007; Matthews, 2008; Correa-Velez et…
Cultivating Connection and Trust in Counselling, with Deb Banks
By Maeve Galea Image source: Piqsels Deb Banks' knows that trust can (and should be) hard-won, 'I will tell kids in their first session, "I'm just going to ask you a few…
Briefing Sheet for Educators in NSW: Supporting Students and Families with Links to Afghanistan during NSW COVID-19 Restrictions
Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces intensified since May 2021 in response to the gradual withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan. On 15 August 2021, the Taliban captured…
Supporting Student Wellbeing during COVID-19 Restrictions and Remote-learning – Deb’s Digest Term 4, 2021
By Deb Gould Image credit: HaticeEROL, Pixabay “I can’t do this anymore”, “Nothing I do makes any difference”. By the time this edition comes out, NSW students will have been learning…
Displaced families (TPV Holders) with children with disabilities in Australia
By Melika Taheri, Shaun Nemorin and Rachelle Coe, Feb 2022
BRIEFING SHEET FOR EDUCATORS IN NSW: Supporting Students Affected by the War in Ukraine
By The School Liaison Team, STARTTS 1 March 2022
Supporting Children and Adolescents Affected by the War in Ukraine
By STARTTS - Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
Підтримка дітей та підлітків, які постраждали внаслідок війни в Україні (Ukrainian) Supporting Children and Adolescents Affected by the War in Ukraine
By STARTTS – Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
Supporting Students with Sudanese Heritage during the 2023 Conflict in Sudan
WARNING: This document contains distressing details about the conflict in Sudan. 11 May 2023
Supporting 74 Ezidi Genocide Commemoration (Also known as Roja Resh or Black day), 3rd of August
By Rachelle Coe & Nicole Loehr
Walk On Walk Strong
The STARTTS LGBTIQA+ project recognises the diversity of communities with diverse sexualities and genders with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Our program provides peer-led support groups run by people with…
Neurofeedback at Schools: Exercise for the Brain
What is Neurofeedback? Neurofeedback is a type of treatment that provides the person with specific information about their own brain activity. When information about brainwave patterns is provided, the person…
STARTTS Services for Children and Young People
STARTTS provides a broad range of services for children and young people. We employ specialist youth workers and child and adolescent counsellors to work with this age group. They also…
Refer a Student for Counselling
A core aspect of STARTTS’ approach to assisting children and young people to overcome the impact of trauma is through providing counselling and psychotherapy. This is provided at STARTTS offices…
STARTTS Regional School Holiday Breaks Program
The STARTTS school holiday break program is funded through the Office for Regional Youth to provide young people across NSW from a refugee background, with access to free opportunities to…
Supporting Students with Refugee Experience During an International Crisis
By STARTTS Image adapted from original work by Zainab Mujtaba
All One Under the Sun
All One Under the Sun 'All One Under the Sun' is a remedy to racism campaign for the whole community, driven by young people and using the arts to promote…
Supporting and Maintaining a Safe Work Environment for Multicultural School Staff
Multilingual School Staff enrich our school communities with their language skills, cultural knowledge and a strong desire to support student learning and wellbeing. The STARTTS School Liaison Team has produced…
All Briefing Sheets
Supporting Students in the Wake of the Beirut Explosion
The horrific explosion that ripped through Beirut, Lebanon on 4 August came on the back of a crippling economic crisis which has decimated people’s life savings, rising COVID-19 infections, food…
Briefing Sheet for Educators in NSW: Supporting Students and Families with Links to Afghanistan during NSW COVID-19 Restrictions
Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces intensified since May 2021 in response to the gradual withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan. On 15 August 2021, the Taliban captured…
BRIEFING SHEET FOR EDUCATORS IN NSW: Supporting Students Affected by the War in Ukraine
By The School Liaison Team, STARTTS 1 March 2022
Supporting Children and Adolescents Affected by the War in Ukraine
By STARTTS - Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
Підтримка дітей та підлітків, які постраждали внаслідок війни в Україні (Ukrainian) Supporting Children and Adolescents Affected by the War in Ukraine
By STARTTS – Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
Supporting Students with Sudanese Heritage during the 2023 Conflict in Sudan
WARNING: This document contains distressing details about the conflict in Sudan. 11 May 2023
Supporting 74 Ezidi Genocide Commemoration (Also known as Roja Resh or Black day), 3rd of August
By Rachelle Coe & Nicole Loehr
Supporting Students with Refugee Experience During an International Crisis
By STARTTS Image adapted from original work by Zainab Mujtaba
All Tip Sheets
Supporting and Maintaining a Safe Work Environment for Multicultural School Staff
Multilingual School Staff enrich our school communities with their language skills, cultural knowledge and a strong desire to support student learning and wellbeing. The STARTTS School Liaison Team has produced…
All Podcasts
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep1: Working therapeutically with learners with refugee experience in a COVID reality
In this episode of the Hints for Healing Podcast, Shaun speaks with Julie-Anne Younis who is the Senior Child and Adolescent Counsellor/Trainer at STARTTS. A registered psychologist who has provided…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep2: Jungle Tracks – Healing Through Stories
Shaun speaks with STARTTS Psychologists Pearl Fernandes and Yvette Aiello about the how story books from the Jungle Tracks Kit have been used to support children's recovery from refugee trauma.
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep3: Sandplay – Expressing and understanding through sand and miniatures
Shaun talks to STARTTS Child & Adolescent Counsellors Chiara Ridolfi and Sanja Stefanovic about how they apply their training in Sandplay to working therapeutically with children with refugee experiences. Sanja…
Hints for Healing Podcast Episode S1; Ep4: Cultural Chameleons and Creative Therapies
In this episode Shaun Nemorin talks to STARTTS School Liaison Officer, Nicole Loehr. They discuss how the most unsuspecting paths can lead to working with survivors of refugee experiences and…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep5: Sydney Soccer Stories: Social Connectivity and Narrative Approaches to Trauma Recovery
Shaun Nemorin swaps roles and hops in the guest seat! In this episode Nicole Loehr interviews Shaun about the importance of social connectivity in overcoming adversity and his personal and…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep6 – On Country: Belonging and Culturally Relevant Therapy
Shaun Nemorin interviews social worker and psychotherapist Sue-Anne Hunter, a proud Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman. They discuss connection to ancestors and the intersections of trauma healing amongst First Nations Peoples and…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep7 – Occupational Therapy Approaches to Trauma Recovery
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep7 – Occupational Therapy Approaches to Trauma Recovery Nicole Loehr interviews Occupational Therapist and fellow STARTTS School Liaison Officer, Rachelle Coe about the role that…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep8 – Windows and Mirrors: Teaching and Sharing Refugee Stories in the Classroom
Teacher, psychologist and writer Jemima Shafei-Ongu talks to Nicole Loehr about how texts with refugee themes can be used in the classroom in a way that respects the psychological safety…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep9 – Third Space and Intercultural Learning: Providing Pathways for Safety and Healing in the Classroom
Rafik Tanious is an education and mental-health professional and film maker, who specialises in cross-cultural therapeutic interventions and inter-cultural learning. In this discussion with Nicole Loehr, they address the…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep10 – Physical Activity for Health Among young Torture and Trauma Survivors: An Opportunity for Treatment and Prevention
Dr Simon Rosenbaum is an internationally recognised pioneer in the field of physical activity, mental illness, sport for development and global mental health. Scientia Associate Professor in the School…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep12: Neurofeedback Counselling for Children with Refugee Experience
In this episode, Nicole interviews STARTTS Child and Adolescent Neurofeedback Counsellor Jacqueline Tow. At STARTTS, Jacqueline practices neurofeedback counselling with children, young people and their families both in STARTTS clinics,…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep13: Supporting Refugee Children Survivors of the Beirut Blast: Reflections from Trauma Specialists in Lebanon
In this episode, Nicole Loehr speaks with Clinical Psychologist Joelle Wehbe and Social Worker Celine Yasmine from RESTART, which is the Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and…
Support for Dari-Speaking Parents Affected by the Crisis in Afghanistan: How parents can promote the wellbeing of their children and themselves during COVID-19 restrictions (Language: Dari)
In this special edition podcast in Dari, STARTTS Senior Clinician/Clinical Trainer, Nooria Mehraby, MD, addresses Afghan parents across NSW. In this podcast, Nooria provides: An introduction to STARTTS services An…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep14 – Supporting Students and Families with Afghan Backgrounds
In this episode, Nicole Loehr speaks with STARTTS Senior Clinician and Clinical Trainer, Nooria Mehraby. Nooria trained as a medical doctor in her native Afghanistan before completing a Master of Counselling in Australia. She…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep15 – The Sacred Territory: Using the Methodologies of Eco-dialogue to Open Minds to the Interrelation and Interdependency of Nature and Humanity
On 10 September, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin chaired the 2021 conference of the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR). One of the distinguished speakers was…
Shaun Nemorin on the Social Work Spotlight Podcast
On 30 October 2021, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin, was interviewed by Yasmine McKee-Wright on the Social Work Spotlight podcast. Shaun spoke about what drew him to the social work profession after…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep 1: Resettlement of Recent Afghan Evacuees in Victorian Schools
Image source: School's In for Refugees, Victoria Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc. Welcome to Season 2 of the Hints for Healing Podcast! In this season we welcome guests to…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep 2: Supporting the Resettlement of Afghan Evacuees in NSW
In this episode, STARTTS Community Development Group Worker, Rohullah Rahimi, spoke with Nicole Loehr about how recent evacuees from Afghanistan are being impacted by their ordeal. He discusses what educators…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep3: Supporting the Recovery of Afghan Youth Through Online Platforms
In this episode, STARTTS Youth Program Team Leader, Lina Ishu discusses how she and her team used flexibility, creativity and consultation to adapt to the needs of Afghan Young People…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep 4 – Navigating Year 12 in 2021: Experiences of an Afghan Australian Woman
In this episode, 19 year-old Afghan-Australian, Farzana Nazari talks about her experiences of transitioning from her Intensive English Centre to mainstream high school. Farzana also discusses what gave her strength…
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Introduction
In Season 3, Hints for Healing examines four forms of racism, how racism impacts on learners with refugee experience and what is being done to combat this. In this introduction,…
Hints for Healing Podcast S3 Ep 1: Structural Racism with Dr Virginia Mapedzahama and Rafik Tanious
In this episode, Dr Virginia Mapedzahama (African Women Australia) and Rafik Tanious (STARTTS) discuss structural racism in Australia and what is needed to combat it effectively. African Women Australia Diversity…
Hints for Healing Podcast S3; Ep 2: Combating Institutional Racism in Schools
In this episode, Marica Stipanovic (Principal Policy Officer, Anti-Racism, NSW Department of Education) discusses how the NSW Department of Education is tackling racism and shares highlights from the Department's 2022…
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Ep 3: All One Under the Sun: Arts-Based Opposition to Institutional Racism
In this podcast, Dianne Jacobus (STARTTS’ Coffs Harbour Youth Community Development Project Worker) discusses three arts-based anti-racism projects she has worked on in Coffs Harbour: All One Under the Sun,…
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Ep 4- Personal Racism: How Racism Impacts the Developing Individual
In this episode, STARTTS School Liaison Officer, Rafik Tanious, discusses how all forms of racism impact on the developing individual and highlights how schools can work against racism and toward…
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Conclusion: Anti-Racism and Inclusion in Schools
Rafik Tanious returns to Hints for Healing to tie together the four episodes on racism and anti-racism leave you with some concluding remarks. We hope this season has been helpful in…
All Videos
Hints for Healing and STARTTS in Schools Webinar for PETAA (Primary English Teaching Association Australia)
On 10 March 2021, School Liaison Officer Nicole Loehr delivered a webinar for PETAA (Primary English Teacher Association Australia), which PETAA have generously made available to the public. In this…
Idioms of Distress Amongst Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – Shaun Nemorin’s Address to the 2021 ACOTS Conference
In September 2021, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin addressed the 2021 conference of the Australasian Conference on Traumatic Stress (ACOTS). Shaun discusses his research into how members of…
Reconectando: Hector Aristizábal at the 2021 conference of the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR)
On 10 September, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin chaired the 2021 conference of the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR). One of the distinguished speakers was psychologist, activist and social arts…
Part of the System Ep 26 with Shaun Nemorin, Team Leader of STARTTS School Liaison Team
On 21 June 2021, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin, was interviewed by David Burns (Founder & CEO of Collective Leisure) about wellbeing, community sport and his personal experiences…
Arabic Video About STARTTS for Clients
In this video, three STARTTS clients (one of whom is a young person), talk about their experiences of being STARTTS clients in Arabic (English subtitles).
Supporting Newly Arrived Ukrainian Students and their Families
In this video, STARTTS Clinical Psychologist, Marc Chaussivert interviews Dasha Brailko (Witness to War Bicultural Client Support Worker, STARTTS) about the current challenges faced by newly-arrived Ukrainian school-aged students and…
Families in Cultural Transition (FICT)
The Families in Cultural Transition (FICT) program is a ten week series of workshops designed to help newly arrived people from refugee backgrounds make sense of the changes that they…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 1: Introduction
This introductory video provides an overview of STARTTS services to schools and provides an outline of the contents of the six videos that make up this series. The presentation also…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 2: Consequences of Trauma
The STARTTS Biopsychosocial Model is used to conceptualise the multi-level impact of trauma on the individual. The presentation also takes a deeper look at the impact of trauma and vicarious…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 3: Impacts of the Practitioner
Vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout are defined and presented as occupational hazards that can be managed to reduce their impact on practitioners, their clients and the other people in…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 4: Boundaries
Karpman’s Drama Triangle is used as a model to explain how practitioners can easily get drawn into the role of “rescuer,” “victim,” or “persecutor” if professional boundaries with clients/students are…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 5: Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth
The positive transformations that can emerge out of empathic and professional engagement with survivors of traumatic events are discussed. The presenter highlights how greater awareness of post-traumatic growth and vicarious…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 6: Self Care and Seeking Support
Self-compassion is presented as a helpful foundational framework for nurturing good self-care. John Arden’s SEEDS model is then discussed in detail and recommended as a model for taking stock of…
Deakin University Disability and Inclusion Videos (Arabic)
Visit the Deakin University Disability and Inclusion channel to find videos in Arabic, produced as a result of a range of participatory action research projects lead by disability and Inclusion researchers…
STARTTS Community Voice
Community Voice is a capacity building and family support group which embraces a co-design approach. This means that communities and individuals are supported to drive program design alongside STARTTS. The…
All Resources
Nercy Clarke on Supporting Students through Grief and Growth
By Maeve Galea Image Source: Sarah Horrigan, flikr ‘For young people with a refugee background, grief experiences could vary from having lost a close family member to grieving the loss…
Launch of Revised Settling In Kit
The STARTTS School Liaison Team are thrilled to announce that the third edition of the Settling In Kit is now available for purchase here! If you missed the online launch,…
Supporting Students in the Wake of the Beirut Explosion
The horrific explosion that ripped through Beirut, Lebanon on 4 August came on the back of a crippling economic crisis which has decimated people’s life savings, rising COVID-19 infections, food…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep1: Working therapeutically with learners with refugee experience in a COVID reality
In this episode of the Hints for Healing Podcast, Shaun speaks with Julie-Anne Younis who is the Senior Child and Adolescent Counsellor/Trainer at STARTTS. A registered psychologist who has provided…
Services to Learners with Refugee Experience during COVID19
There are a number of factors that educators might need to be aware of in the current COVID19 climate that have the potential of adversely impacting on learners with refugee…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep2: Jungle Tracks – Healing Through Stories
Shaun speaks with STARTTS Psychologists Pearl Fernandes and Yvette Aiello about the how story books from the Jungle Tracks Kit have been used to support children's recovery from refugee trauma.
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep3: Sandplay – Expressing and understanding through sand and miniatures
Shaun talks to STARTTS Child & Adolescent Counsellors Chiara Ridolfi and Sanja Stefanovic about how they apply their training in Sandplay to working therapeutically with children with refugee experiences. Sanja…
Hints for Healing Podcast Episode S1; Ep4: Cultural Chameleons and Creative Therapies
In this episode Shaun Nemorin talks to STARTTS School Liaison Officer, Nicole Loehr. They discuss how the most unsuspecting paths can lead to working with survivors of refugee experiences and…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep5: Sydney Soccer Stories: Social Connectivity and Narrative Approaches to Trauma Recovery
Shaun Nemorin swaps roles and hops in the guest seat! In this episode Nicole Loehr interviews Shaun about the importance of social connectivity in overcoming adversity and his personal and…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep6 – On Country: Belonging and Culturally Relevant Therapy
Shaun Nemorin interviews social worker and psychotherapist Sue-Anne Hunter, a proud Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman. They discuss connection to ancestors and the intersections of trauma healing amongst First Nations Peoples and…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep7 – Occupational Therapy Approaches to Trauma Recovery
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep7 – Occupational Therapy Approaches to Trauma Recovery Nicole Loehr interviews Occupational Therapist and fellow STARTTS School Liaison Officer, Rachelle Coe about the role that…
Hints for Healing and STARTTS in Schools Webinar for PETAA (Primary English Teaching Association Australia)
On 10 March 2021, School Liaison Officer Nicole Loehr delivered a webinar for PETAA (Primary English Teacher Association Australia), which PETAA have generously made available to the public. In this…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep8 – Windows and Mirrors: Teaching and Sharing Refugee Stories in the Classroom
Teacher, psychologist and writer Jemima Shafei-Ongu talks to Nicole Loehr about how texts with refugee themes can be used in the classroom in a way that respects the psychological safety…
Suspensions and Expulsions in NSW Schools – Deb’s Digest Term 2, 2021
By Deb Gould Image credit: Abhinav Thakur (CCO) This is not a hints and tips piece; very far from it. Hopefully, it will stimulate reflection on the fact that 32,300…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep9 – Third Space and Intercultural Learning: Providing Pathways for Safety and Healing in the Classroom
Rafik Tanious is an education and mental-health professional and film maker, who specialises in cross-cultural therapeutic interventions and inter-cultural learning. In this discussion with Nicole Loehr, they address the…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep10 – Physical Activity for Health Among young Torture and Trauma Survivors: An Opportunity for Treatment and Prevention
Dr Simon Rosenbaum is an internationally recognised pioneer in the field of physical activity, mental illness, sport for development and global mental health. Scientia Associate Professor in the School…
Culturally and Therapeutically Savvy Engagement with Learners and their Families with Refugee Experience
By Rafik Tanious, School Liaison Counsellor/Project Officer Rural and Regional NSW, STARTTS Image credit: Steve Snodgrass 16 October 2020 How do we make education engage with the life-worlds of learners…
We Need to Talk about Devices – Deb’s Digest Term 3, 2021
By Deb Gould Image source: pxfuel Initially, Nicole and I had flagged ‘gaming’ as this term’s topic. But, with the average gamer being 34 (Brand et al., 2019), this doesn’t really cover the concern that many of…
Building Community at School, with School Liaison Officer Maria Ha
By Maeve Galea It’s widely accepted that schools can play an instrumental role in supporting the recovery of children with refugee experience (Kia-Keating & Ellis, 2007; Matthews, 2008; Correa-Velez et…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep12: Neurofeedback Counselling for Children with Refugee Experience
In this episode, Nicole interviews STARTTS Child and Adolescent Neurofeedback Counsellor Jacqueline Tow. At STARTTS, Jacqueline practices neurofeedback counselling with children, young people and their families both in STARTTS clinics,…
Cultivating Connection and Trust in Counselling, with Deb Banks
By Maeve Galea Image source: Piqsels Deb Banks' knows that trust can (and should be) hard-won, 'I will tell kids in their first session, "I'm just going to ask you a few…
Briefing Sheet for Educators in NSW: Supporting Students and Families with Links to Afghanistan during NSW COVID-19 Restrictions
Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces intensified since May 2021 in response to the gradual withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan. On 15 August 2021, the Taliban captured…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep13: Supporting Refugee Children Survivors of the Beirut Blast: Reflections from Trauma Specialists in Lebanon
In this episode, Nicole Loehr speaks with Clinical Psychologist Joelle Wehbe and Social Worker Celine Yasmine from RESTART, which is the Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and…
Support for Dari-Speaking Parents Affected by the Crisis in Afghanistan: How parents can promote the wellbeing of their children and themselves during COVID-19 restrictions (Language: Dari)
In this special edition podcast in Dari, STARTTS Senior Clinician/Clinical Trainer, Nooria Mehraby, MD, addresses Afghan parents across NSW. In this podcast, Nooria provides: An introduction to STARTTS services An…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep14 – Supporting Students and Families with Afghan Backgrounds
In this episode, Nicole Loehr speaks with STARTTS Senior Clinician and Clinical Trainer, Nooria Mehraby. Nooria trained as a medical doctor in her native Afghanistan before completing a Master of Counselling in Australia. She…
Supporting Student Wellbeing during COVID-19 Restrictions and Remote-learning – Deb’s Digest Term 4, 2021
By Deb Gould Image credit: HaticeEROL, Pixabay “I can’t do this anymore”, “Nothing I do makes any difference”. By the time this edition comes out, NSW students will have been learning…
Hints for Healing Podcast S1; Ep15 – The Sacred Territory: Using the Methodologies of Eco-dialogue to Open Minds to the Interrelation and Interdependency of Nature and Humanity
On 10 September, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin chaired the 2021 conference of the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR). One of the distinguished speakers was…
Shaun Nemorin on the Social Work Spotlight Podcast
On 30 October 2021, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin, was interviewed by Yasmine McKee-Wright on the Social Work Spotlight podcast. Shaun spoke about what drew him to the social work profession after…
Displaced families (TPV Holders) with children with disabilities in Australia
By Melika Taheri, Shaun Nemorin and Rachelle Coe, Feb 2022
BRIEFING SHEET FOR EDUCATORS IN NSW: Supporting Students Affected by the War in Ukraine
By The School Liaison Team, STARTTS 1 March 2022
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep 1: Resettlement of Recent Afghan Evacuees in Victorian Schools
Image source: School's In for Refugees, Victoria Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc. Welcome to Season 2 of the Hints for Healing Podcast! In this season we welcome guests to…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep 2: Supporting the Resettlement of Afghan Evacuees in NSW
In this episode, STARTTS Community Development Group Worker, Rohullah Rahimi, spoke with Nicole Loehr about how recent evacuees from Afghanistan are being impacted by their ordeal. He discusses what educators…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep3: Supporting the Recovery of Afghan Youth Through Online Platforms
In this episode, STARTTS Youth Program Team Leader, Lina Ishu discusses how she and her team used flexibility, creativity and consultation to adapt to the needs of Afghan Young People…
Hints for Healing Podcast S2, Ep 4 – Navigating Year 12 in 2021: Experiences of an Afghan Australian Woman
In this episode, 19 year-old Afghan-Australian, Farzana Nazari talks about her experiences of transitioning from her Intensive English Centre to mainstream high school. Farzana also discusses what gave her strength…
Supporting Children and Adolescents Affected by the War in Ukraine
By STARTTS - Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
Підтримка дітей та підлітків, які постраждали внаслідок війни в Україні (Ukrainian) Supporting Children and Adolescents Affected by the War in Ukraine
By STARTTS – Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Introduction
In Season 3, Hints for Healing examines four forms of racism, how racism impacts on learners with refugee experience and what is being done to combat this. In this introduction,…
Hints for Healing Podcast S3 Ep 1: Structural Racism with Dr Virginia Mapedzahama and Rafik Tanious
In this episode, Dr Virginia Mapedzahama (African Women Australia) and Rafik Tanious (STARTTS) discuss structural racism in Australia and what is needed to combat it effectively. African Women Australia Diversity…
Hints for Healing Podcast S3; Ep 2: Combating Institutional Racism in Schools
In this episode, Marica Stipanovic (Principal Policy Officer, Anti-Racism, NSW Department of Education) discusses how the NSW Department of Education is tackling racism and shares highlights from the Department's 2022…
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Ep 3: All One Under the Sun: Arts-Based Opposition to Institutional Racism
In this podcast, Dianne Jacobus (STARTTS’ Coffs Harbour Youth Community Development Project Worker) discusses three arts-based anti-racism projects she has worked on in Coffs Harbour: All One Under the Sun,…
Supporting Students with Sudanese Heritage during the 2023 Conflict in Sudan
WARNING: This document contains distressing details about the conflict in Sudan. 11 May 2023
Supporting 74 Ezidi Genocide Commemoration (Also known as Roja Resh or Black day), 3rd of August
By Rachelle Coe & Nicole Loehr
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Ep 4- Personal Racism: How Racism Impacts the Developing Individual
In this episode, STARTTS School Liaison Officer, Rafik Tanious, discusses how all forms of racism impact on the developing individual and highlights how schools can work against racism and toward…
Hints for Healing Podcast Season 3 Conclusion: Anti-Racism and Inclusion in Schools
Rafik Tanious returns to Hints for Healing to tie together the four episodes on racism and anti-racism leave you with some concluding remarks. We hope this season has been helpful in…
Walk On Walk Strong
The STARTTS LGBTIQA+ project recognises the diversity of communities with diverse sexualities and genders with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Our program provides peer-led support groups run by people with…
Neurofeedback at Schools: Exercise for the Brain
What is Neurofeedback? Neurofeedback is a type of treatment that provides the person with specific information about their own brain activity. When information about brainwave patterns is provided, the person…
Idioms of Distress Amongst Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – Shaun Nemorin’s Address to the 2021 ACOTS Conference
In September 2021, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin addressed the 2021 conference of the Australasian Conference on Traumatic Stress (ACOTS). Shaun discusses his research into how members of…
Reconectando: Hector Aristizábal at the 2021 conference of the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR)
On 10 September, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin chaired the 2021 conference of the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR). One of the distinguished speakers was psychologist, activist and social arts…
Part of the System Ep 26 with Shaun Nemorin, Team Leader of STARTTS School Liaison Team
On 21 June 2021, STARTTS School Liaison Team Leader, Shaun Nemorin, was interviewed by David Burns (Founder & CEO of Collective Leisure) about wellbeing, community sport and his personal experiences…
Arabic Video About STARTTS for Clients
In this video, three STARTTS clients (one of whom is a young person), talk about their experiences of being STARTTS clients in Arabic (English subtitles).
Supporting Newly Arrived Ukrainian Students and their Families
In this video, STARTTS Clinical Psychologist, Marc Chaussivert interviews Dasha Brailko (Witness to War Bicultural Client Support Worker, STARTTS) about the current challenges faced by newly-arrived Ukrainian school-aged students and…
Families in Cultural Transition (FICT)
The Families in Cultural Transition (FICT) program is a ten week series of workshops designed to help newly arrived people from refugee backgrounds make sense of the changes that they…
STARTTS Services for Children and Young People
STARTTS provides a broad range of services for children and young people. We employ specialist youth workers and child and adolescent counsellors to work with this age group. They also…
Refer a Student for Counselling
A core aspect of STARTTS’ approach to assisting children and young people to overcome the impact of trauma is through providing counselling and psychotherapy. This is provided at STARTTS offices…
STARTTS In Schools
STARTTS In Schools works in collaboration with schools across NSW to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of students with refugee experience. For more information, view the STARTTS In Schools…
STARTTS School Liaison Program
STARTTS School Liaison Officers work with educators across NSW public, private and Catholic systemic schools to enhance schools’ capacity in their work with students with refugee experience. For more information,…
STARTTS Youth Camps
The STARTTS Youth program aims at bringing young people of refugee background together to learn how to communicate, play, live and learn together in order to foster long-lasting relationships built…
STARTTS Regional School Holiday Breaks Program
The STARTTS school holiday break program is funded through the Office for Regional Youth to provide young people across NSW from a refugee background, with access to free opportunities to…
Sporting Linx program
Sporting Linx is an 8 week program run in high schools that uses sport to promote social connection, empowerment and leadership among refugee youth. STARTTS works closely with individual schools…
STARTTS Capoeira Program
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art that arose out of the struggle of the Afro-Brazilian population of Brazil, many of whom were brought to Brazil to work as slaves in the…
South Sudanese Youth Ambassadors Program
The South Sudanese Youth Ambassadors (SSYA) program has been running since 2017 as part of the Mental Health Literacy & Suicide Prevention Project that focuses on improving the wellbeing of…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 1: Introduction
This introductory video provides an overview of STARTTS services to schools and provides an outline of the contents of the six videos that make up this series. The presentation also…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 2: Consequences of Trauma
The STARTTS Biopsychosocial Model is used to conceptualise the multi-level impact of trauma on the individual. The presentation also takes a deeper look at the impact of trauma and vicarious…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 3: Impacts of the Practitioner
Vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout are defined and presented as occupational hazards that can be managed to reduce their impact on practitioners, their clients and the other people in…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 4: Boundaries
Karpman’s Drama Triangle is used as a model to explain how practitioners can easily get drawn into the role of “rescuer,” “victim,” or “persecutor” if professional boundaries with clients/students are…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 5: Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth
The positive transformations that can emerge out of empathic and professional engagement with survivors of traumatic events are discussed. The presenter highlights how greater awareness of post-traumatic growth and vicarious…
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Part 6: Self Care and Seeking Support
Self-compassion is presented as a helpful foundational framework for nurturing good self-care. John Arden’s SEEDS model is then discussed in detail and recommended as a model for taking stock of…
Purchase The Settling In Kit
Settling In is a group program for newly arrived refugee and migrant students which aims to help students adjust to life in Australia. Although it is most often used with…
Register Your Expression of Interest in Settling In Facilitator Training
Settling In Facilitator Training is run on a quarterly basis online via Zoom (free for eligible participants located in Australia). If you would like to be the first to know…
Deakin University Disability and Inclusion Videos (Arabic)
Visit the Deakin University Disability and Inclusion channel to find videos in Arabic, produced as a result of a range of participatory action research projects lead by disability and Inclusion researchers…
Youth Start
Youth Start is an initiative led by the youth, for the youth. Youth Start provides programs developed by the STARTTS Youth Team, as well as a platform to form friendships…
Baby Map
Baby Map – A guide for you and your 0-3 year old This animated video series, located on the STARTTS website, has been developed for parents and caregivers from refugee…
STARTTS Community Voice
Community Voice is a capacity building and family support group which embraces a co-design approach. This means that communities and individuals are supported to drive program design alongside STARTTS. The…
Supporting Students with Refugee Experience During an International Crisis
By STARTTS Image adapted from original work by Zainab Mujtaba
All One Under the Sun
All One Under the Sun 'All One Under the Sun' is a remedy to racism campaign for the whole community, driven by young people and using the arts to promote…
Supporting and Maintaining a Safe Work Environment for Multicultural School Staff
Multilingual School Staff enrich our school communities with their language skills, cultural knowledge and a strong desire to support student learning and wellbeing. The STARTTS School Liaison Team has produced…
